BYU women's 3rd straight loss keeps Iowa State unbeaten in Big 12 play

PROVO — BYU women's basketball was a stones' throw away from earning its first Big 12 win of the season Saturday afternoon against Iowa State.

The Cyclones' three star freshmen weren't going to let them slow down, though.

Addy Brown poured in 24 points with eight rebounds and three assists, and Arianna Jackson added a career-high 17 points on five 3-pointers as Iowa State held off the Cougars, 80-75 in the first game of a conference doubleheader at the Marriott Center.

Audi Crooks added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Cyclones (10-4, 3-0 Big 12), which shot 12-of-27 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Cougars 41-32.

"That's kind of the way they've done it all year," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "They have a little edge to them, like Brock Purdy, the Iowa State graduate who plays for the 49ers. … They took some big shots at big times."

Kailey Woolston led BYU with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four 3-pointers, and Lauren Gustin notched the 70th double-double of her career with 14 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for BYU (10-6, 0-3 Big 12).

Amari Whiting added 12 points and nine assists, Rose Bubakar notched a season-high 11 points and two assists, and Kaylee Smiler and Emma Calvert each scored 9 for BYU.

"I'm really proud of my women tonight. I know it's a loss, but that kind of fight I'll take any night of the week," BYU coach Amber Whiting said. "If we had fought like that last game (against Oklahoma), we probably would've won. They're going to win a lot of games if they bring that fight every night and I'm super proud of them."

Amari Whiting crashed to the ground for a steal then dished to Lauren Davenport for a transition bucket to cap an 8-0 run and push the Cougars to a 16-11 advantage late in the first quarter. But the Cyclones responded with a 9-0 run to take a 20-16 lead out of the first quarter, outrebounding BYU 9-6 to correct for the Cougars' 50% shooting performance.

But Bubakar sparked the Cougars in the second quarter, coming off the bench to score 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting with an assist in seven minutes.

The junior from Fredrick, Maryland finished at the rim, found Amari Whiting on a cut inside, and forced a turnover on back-to-back possessions.

Bubakar's jumper from the paint tied the game at 26-26 as BYU hit 7-of-9 shots during a similar run that saw the Cyclones shoot as low as 2-of-11 from the field with nearly three minutes without a bucket en route to the host's 33-30 halftime edge.

"I honestly felt more confident and more focused in this game than other games," Bubakar said. "I know I say before every game, play on attack. Sometimes it comes through, sometimes it doesn't. But today, Amber just had us all take a breathe and focus on what we were going to do for this team. I took it personally and I went out and tried to do what I do best."

Bubakar drained a three to push the Cougars' lead to five, 48-43 with 3:12 left in the third quarter. But the Cyclones responded with a 12-3 run that included Jackson's career-high fifth 3-pointer en route to a 55-51 lead ahead of the fourth.

The two teams combined to shoot 10-of-14 from 3-point range in the third quarter as Woolston got cooking before finishing 4-of-5 from deep.

But the Cyclones didn't let up, shooting 57.1% in the fourth quarter including a fourth 3-pointer from Brown with 34 seconds remaining to help ice the game against a BYU side that fielded just seven players to stay unbeaten in conference play.

The win marks Fennelly's 600th career win in 29 seasons as Iowa State's head coach.

"I think it probably starts me getting old; I've been blessed to be there for a long time," Fennelly said. "I'm sure back home there will be a lot of talk about win No. 600, rather than what they did tonight in their 10th win and a Big 12 game. But someone asked me back home if I play the lottery, and I told them I already did because I love Iowa State.

"I love everything about it, and I've been so blessed that my family could grow up there and I could work for great people, great coaches and great players."

After opening conference play with 2-of-3 home games, BYU is on the road for two of the next three beginning next Wednesday at Houston (4 p.m. MST, ESPN+).

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